This morning, we got an early start on our rehearsal, and I was so excited for Blondie, Operetta, and me to practice our song with Alistair. We enjoyed our Michael Buble and Puppini Sisters-inspired song so much last year, we decided to do something similar this year. We had decided that our song was going to be “All I Want for Christmas is You”, but we were changing it to have more harmonizing and to be more upbeat.

After we finished the song, we walked off quickly so that the Disney girls could get ready for their song.

My head was spinning with ideas and concerns about the show. I just couldn’t stop my brain from making lists of things that needed fixing and adjusting. Just then Grace scurried in, her face lit up and her hazel eyes shining.

“Come with me!” she exclaimed. “And bring Poppy!” I grabbed my sister, and followed Grace into her bedroom. I was surprised. Grace doesn’t often do stuff with us in her bedroom, because the lighting isn’t very good for photos.

I almost didn’t want to let myself think that the news could be about Bunny. I just didn’t want to let myself down again. Grace had been tirelessly searching thrift stores and yard sales whenever she could, but finding Bunny had seemed like a lost cause. With Christmas fast approaching, I felt bad urging Grace to do stuff for me and the other dolls when she has everything else with her family going on. I hadn’t forgotten our quest, however—far from it. I was just so focused on everything else going on, and I had a horrible sinking feeling that maybe Bunny wouldn’t get here by Christmas.

“I have great news!” Grace grinned.

I almost didn’t dare to ask her if the news pertained to Bunny, but when she pulled a doll only a bit shorter than me with pale blonde bobbed hair out of a shopping bag, my heart skipped a beat in my plastic chest.

“Is—is it her?” Poppy stuttered.

“Yes,” Grace jubilantly confirmed. “And I have to go shopping with Mom now, but I’m 100% sure that this IS the right Bunny—Alistair’s Bunny!” When Grace left, Poppy and I looked at Bunny, and her eyes were wide with happiness.

The little paint spot on the right side of her neck was, to my joy, beautifully present. I wasn’t sure what we should do, but she rushed into a three way hug before I could say anything.

“Grace told me,” she choked out between happy tears. “She told me that you all looked and looked for me.”

“We did,” Poppy replied, crying now, too.

“And—now you’re here!” I added with my own tears of joy. I can’t even begin to describe to you, dear readers, what it felt like to find this long lost friend that I didn’t even know. And yet—I felt like I did know her, because she was so important to another one of my friends. It had been almost two years since Bunny and Alistair parted unexpectedly in the toy aisle of Target, probably never expecting to see each other again. Finding one Bunny doll out of the thousands, maybe even millions that were made had at first seemed impossible. Now, she was here. I wanted to run into the studio as fast as I could and tell Alistair. I wanted to fill that hole of loneliness that I had seen and heard in his heart when he sang.

But I had a better idea. Our show is tomorrow night, and Alistair, Operetta, Blondie, and I are going to be singing the same song that I first heard him sing last year with such passion and meaning.

“What if…” Poppy started.

“We surprised him!” I finished. (We do that sometimes…it’s just a twin thing 😉 ) Bunny’s eyes lit up, but then her face fell.

“I’m afraid I don’t look very fitting for a surprise at the moment,” she grimaced.

Her pale blonde hair was a tangle of gel and grease, and her arms were streaked with dust. She was missing her shoes and original outfit, and was wearing an old Bratz dress.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. Bunny had gone through even more than I could have imagined.

Dolls like me and Poppy have had an easy life—we were shipped to Grace through Ebay right after we were taken out of the box, and as soon as we arrived here we were immediately showered with affection. Some of the dolls around here that Grace bought second hand have hinted before at what being a “thrift store” or “Craigslist” doll is like. Some of them—like Jinafire, Operetta, and Sirena—came with most or all of their original accessories and in good condition. The reason that they were sold was simply that their owner was getting too old for them. But Clawdeen? The poor thing spent her the first three years of her life in a cigarette smoke filled RV, and was tossed and roughed around by kids and pets alike until she was eventually listed on Craigslist, where Grace found her and rescued her on her way to her Nana’s house last year. And poor Meg had been trashed since the 90’s. She would have been considered a collector doll, but almost all of her hair had been cut off, her original dress had been lost, and she had been living in the bottom of a bin of dolls in a thrift store. If Grace hadn’t rescued her from Goodwill and given her a new lease on life, heaven knows where she might have ended up.

You may have seen movies like Toy Story and felt bad for toys that get played with roughly and end up trashed…but fashion dolls are sort of a different, more extreme story. We form relationships with others easier than, say, action figures or other figurines. Unlike action figures or other toys, our clothing isn’t molded on, so when a kid rips off our necklace or loses our shoes, it’s like they’re taking away a part of us.

The doll standing before me had been separated from the one she cared about, then eventually trashed and given to a thrift store. She had lost all of her accessories and original outfit, and here she stood. My head spun just thinking about it. What a humbling experience. I had never felt the loneliness of being separated from my sister or my friends for even a day. Grace is a wonderful owner who truly cares for us and makes us new outfits almost every week. We get to be photographed and shared with you lovely readers all of the time, but this doll didn’t even own one pair of shoes.

All of this had raced through my head and my heart, and now I wanted to help. I wanted to have a part in giving this doll a new life. Most importantly, I wanted to reunite her with the doll she loved. Poppy and I looked at each other, and I could tell that she had been thinking the same thing.

“We can help with that,” we both said at the same time, then we broke into a laugh through our still fresh tears. Whenever we do something that’s oddly twin-y, we just have to laugh, because it’s usually totally unexpected.

“And I think I might know some others who can help, too,” I grinned.

As I write this, we’re hiding out in the bathroom (to keep it a secret from Alistair), and I’m watching Poppy and Evie give Bunny a salon-style rinse in the sink. She’s all wrapped up in a fluffy robe that we borrowed from Barbie. 🙂 Clawdeen is putting the finishing touches on a special outfit for Bunny’s surprise tomorrow night.

This, dear, readers, was the most amazing day of my life. I found a long lost doll, almost like a sister, who has been through so much, and I’m helping to reunite her with the doll that she loves. And that—that is the most fantastic feeling in the world. I can’t WAIT to see the look on Alistair’s face when he sees her tomorrow night.

My friends, the next time you hear from me, I’ll be telling you about how the 2nd Annual Christmas Spectacular comes out AND I’ll be able to tell you what happens when we reunite our two Wonderlandian dolls. 🙂

Merry Christmas! I’m so glad u finally found a Bunny doll! 🙂 Where I live, you can go to Meiger and there aris still Bunny’s. I wish I could send one to you. Alistair will be so happy to be reunited with his girlfriend. 😀

Merry Christmas to you and your doll family, and Grace and her family too! 🙂 ❤ I'm so glad you found Bunny, it sounds like she's been through a lot, but she's in a wonderful home now! I can't wait to hear how Alistair reacts.